Mountain View police arrested a Los Altos resident Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest Sept. 9. The arrest followed an investigation into his involvement in a wrongful death civil case related to the death of his wife, Mountain View resident Alice Ku, according to a Mountain View Police Department press release.
The suspect, Harald Herchen, 66, was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 11 in the 900 block of Lundy Lane in Los Altos by Mountain View police detectives, with the assistance of the FBI and Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. He was booked in the Santa Clara County Main Jail on an active warrant for seven counts of perjury – lying under oath.
The wrongful death case was filed June 12, 2021 by Ku’s family. Ku married Herchen in October 2017. During a November 2019 business trip to Taiwan completely orchestrated and planned by Herchen for himself and Ku – both Mountain View residents at the time – Ku disappeared, according to court documents.
Although her body was never found, nor was a cause of death ruled, a Santa Clara County judge ruled she died Nov. 29, 2019 in Taroko National Park. In the days following her death, plaintiffs allege Herchen used Ku’s electronic device to send emails to himself, deceiving law enforcement and members of Ku’s family.
Herchen was eventually ordered to pay approximately $23 million to the decedent’s family after he was found liable in the wrongful death suit.
